


A Month without Them

by BunnyMask



Series: Mystic Haven: The Magic Tower [11]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Aqua is a witch, Gen, I mean they are married, I'll add more tags when I think of them, Isa and Lea are human, Mentioned Olette (Kingdom Hearts), Mentioned Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Aqua/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Namine is a witch, Roxas is a manticore, Terra is a Golem, Vanitas is a batfolk, Ventus is a birdfolk, Xion is a living doll, it just doesn't focus on that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:42:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27583574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyMask/pseuds/BunnyMask
Summary: Ventus and Vanitas are left in charge while Aqua and Terra take a trip to the ranger's lookout.
Relationships: Aqua & Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Isa & Lea (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Mystic Haven: The Magic Tower [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1522583
Comments: 54
Kudos: 38





	1. Pancakes

“Don’t look so worried,” Terra adjusted the backpack he was wearing, “we’ll be back before you know it.”

Ven tried not to frown but knew he was failing. “Terra, I don’t know if I can do everything by myself.”

Terra patted his head. “You don’t have to, Ven.” Terra put his hands on Ven’s shoulders and turned him so he could see Aqua and Vanitas. “You have Vanitas and if you two need help Master Yen Sid is right upstairs.”

Well, that was true, but Ven couldn’t help feeling like four tiny lives rested on his shoulders. He wondered what Vanitas and Aqua were talking about. Was Vanitas as nervous as he was?

“And another thing,” Aqua pressed her fingertips together, “If Xion has chocolate before bed, she has nightmares, so don’t let her talk you into it, okay?”

“Okay,” Vanitas crossed his arms, “got it.”

“And another thing---”

“Aqua! I got it!” Vanitas threw his hands up. 

She was supposed to have started her trip to the lookout like thirty minutes ago, but instead, she was talking about literally everything. The emergency escape plan in case of fire was in the library. The emergency food rations were in the basement. In case of a flood, there were more emergency rations in the attic. Sora needed help flossing before bed. Don’t let Roxas pour the bubbles in the bath because he always poured too much. Naminé couldn’t have drinks after dinner because she was a bedwetter. When Yen Sid asks for scalding hot tea, let it sit for ten minutes before giving it to him because he would burn himself otherwise. And so on and so on and so on…

At this rate, they would lose the rest of the daylight before their journey even started. The sunset wouldn't last forever.

“You’ll only be gone for like a week, the tower won’t implode.”

"I know it won't, but in case it does---”

Vanitas pushed at her. “Leave. Be gone. Set off. I can’t miss you while you’re here.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going.” Aqua walked over to where Isa and Lea were standing and waiting. Xion was talking to them, but the other kids were on the steps of the tower with Yen Sid. Terra was still with Ven, who honestly looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Ventus! Stop being a baby and let Terra leave.”

“I’m not being a baby!”

Terra patted Ven on the head. “You’ll be fine.” 

Terra joined Aqua and the others. Xion hugged them both before running to Ven and Vanitas. They waved as Aqua and Terra followed Isa and Lea into the forest. Ven was still waving even after they couldn’t see them anymore.

They all went inside. They'd eaten dinner early that day, so the brats just played until bedtime. 

+++

There wasn't much syrup left.

Ven was planning on making pancakes, but without syrup, he needed to find another way to add flavor to them. He made his way down the kitchen stairs to take a look in the root cellar. 

Oh!

Ven picked up a basket of berries. They'd just gotten these. He took them up to the kitchen and sliced them up before cooking them into the pancakes.

"Need any help?" Vanitas walked in.

"I don't think so."

"Okay, I'll go wake up the brats then."

Vanitas walked up the stairs. He woke up Xion before continuing up the stairs. Xion hopped up the steps behind him. Vanitas arrived at Roxas's room. He knocked.

"Go away!"

He opened the door.

"Roxas! Get up!"

Roxas put a pillow over his head. "No."

"Fine, miss breakfast."

"It's pancakes!" Xion clapped.

Roxas groaned. "So loud."

Vanitas frowned. Someone was in a mood. He continued up the stairs. He knocked on Naminé's door. She opened it.

"I'm awake."

"Great." He made it to Sora's room. He knocked.

"Coming!" Sora opened the door. "Aw, I wanted Ven!"

Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Get ready."

"Okay." Sora, Naminé, and Xion headed to the bathroom.

Vanitas walked back to Roxas's room. He was under his blankets and pillows.

"Roxas, it's time to get up."

"Vanitas! I'm trying to sleep!"

"And how long do you plan on sleeping?"

"All week!"

Ah. That's what this was about. What was he even supposed to say to that?

"Fine. Do what you want."

Vanitas went downstairs. Ventus was piling the pancakes on a plate.

"Talk to Roxas."

Ventus looked up at him. "Talk to Roxas?"

"He won't get out of bed because Aqua and Terra left."

"What could I say to him? He doesn't even like me."

"Ventus…" Vanitas was quiet for a moment. He crossed his arms and averted his gaze, "...please?"

Ven dropped his spatula but was able to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Fine, I'll try." He finished up the pancake that was cooking before he headed up. He tapped on Roxas's door.

"Go away!"

"Roxas, can I talk to you for a bit?"

"No!"

"Aren't you going to be hungry?"

He was quiet.

"Well, if you insist on staying in your room then I'll bring you something to eat."

"Okay."

As everyone sat down for breakfast, Yen Sid looked at the children.

"No Roxas this morning?"

Ven shook his head. "He's sad. I think he just needs some time to work through his emotions. Vanitas gets like that sometimes."

Vanitas narrowed his eyes, defensively, but didn't say anything.

Ven brought a plate to Roxas. He did that at lunch too and also dinner... for the next two days.

On the third day, Ven brought him a bowl of porridge.

"Breakfast."

"What if they don't come back?" Roxas was sitting with his knees to his chest.

Ven sat the porridge on the dresser. "Why wouldn't they come back?"

Roxas shrugged. "What if they like it there better?"

Ven sat down next to him. "Well, that would be sad, wouldn't it?"

Roxas nodded. There were tears streaming down his face.

Ven patted his head. "I don't think that will happen though."

"Why?"

"Well, even if they like the lookout there are things here that aren't anywhere else."

"Like Aqua's rock collection?"

"Yea," Ven smiled. "She wouldn't leave that behind, right?"

Roxas nodded. He wiped his face. "Can I eat downstairs today?"

"Of course." Ven stood up. "But you have to brush your teeth first."

Roxas groaned but trudged to the bathroom.

When he was finished, they walked downstairs together.

+++

After dinner, Vanitas took the kids to get ready for bed. He stood in the door and watched as the brats brushed their teeth.

Roxas tugged on Vanitas's sleeve, "Tell us a story tonight.”

"You want a story?" Vanitas leaned on the doorframe. "About what?"

"About you," Roxas looked down, "and Ven."

"Oh, you like Ven now?" Vanitas crossed his arms, "Sora better watch out."

Roxas stomped on his foot. The pain coursed through Vanitas's entire leg. He gritted his teeth.

"You brat!" Vanitas scooped Roxas up, "Are you trying to break my foot?"

"Maybe."

Vanitas pinched his nose.

"Hey!" Roxas swatted at his hand.

"Me next!" Xion ran up and hugged Vanitas's legs. She tilted her head up.

"Fine, you little weirdo," Vanitas pinched her nose.

She laughed. Sora ran up. "Me too!"

Vanitas released Xion and pinched Sora.

"Ow! Vanitas!"

"You told me to!" Vanitas did not release him. His eyes fell on Namine. She was just standing by the counter, watching.

"You're not done in here yet?" Ven peeked through the doorway.

"The brats want a story."

Ventus smiled. "Okay, kids, let's go to the library." 

The kids followed Ventus down the stairs and to the library. They all sat down in a circle around Ven.

"Well, Ventus, tell the brats a story."

Ven rolled his eyes. "Well," Ventus smiled at the kids, "What story do you want to hear?"

The kids huddled and discussed for a moment before turning back to Ventus.

Roxas walked up to him, "Tell us how you and Vanitas met."

"How we met?" Ventus was quiet for a moment.

"We didn't meet," Vanitas crossed his arms. "We've always known each other."

"Really?" Sora tilted his head.

"Yea," Ventus nodded, "But we didn't always talk, right?"

"Huh?"

"Remember the first time we ever talked?"

"No. Who would remember that?”

"Oh, well it was a long time ago, I suppose." Ventus sat on the floor. _"It was when we were on the road with Master Xehanort."_

Back then they didn't have a permanent residence, they just traveled the countryside in silence. The general rule was not to speak unless spoken to. Ven was often in the front of the wagon with Master Xehanort. Vanitas was usually in the back.

_"Aw,"_ Xion took Vanitas's hand, "You were all alone."

Vanitas sat down with her. "It was whatever. I was always alone back then."

"Aw," Xion hugged him. "It's okay, let it out."

"I'm not crying!"

“Maybe not on the outside…”

He removed her, “Get off!”

Ven smiled, _"So that day was a little different…"_

That day Master Xehanort told Ven to sit in the back of the wagon because he had to pick someone up. Ven wasn't looking forward to being all alone with Vanitas. It wasn't that Ven had never rode in the back before, he had, that's why he knew it was going to be uncomfortable. Vanitas was strange.

_"He still is,"_ Roxas looked at Vanitas.

Vanitas pinched his nose, "Say that to my face, brat!"

"You're weird!"

"Look who's talking!"

Ven cleared his throat. _"So, I got in the back with Vanitas."_

Vanitas was sitting by the back wall. Ven sat by the door. He had seen their Master talking to Vanitas before. He wondered what they talked about. When Ven talked to their Master it was usually them talking about Magic and different Magical Beings. Did they talk about the same things?

Ven watched Vanitas. He was resting his head against the wall. He'd had a long night of training with the Master. It must have been tiring.

Vanitas opened his eyes and looked at Ven. "Stop staring at me, you bird-eyed freak!" He glared, "Next time I catch you looking at me, I'll knock your teeth out!"

_"So, I stopped looking at him."_ Ven clasped his hands.

The kids started laughing.

"That's not the first thing I ever said to you!"

"Yes, it was."

Vanitas's face got really red. "Bedtime! Get out of my face!"

The kids ran off, still laughing.

"Vanitas---"

"Sorry, okay?"

"For what?"

"For being mean to you." He avoided eye contact.

"It's not like I hold it against you."

"Whatever," Vanitas walked to the door. "As long as you're not mad."

Ven smiled. Vanitas wore his feelings like an outfit. Ven had always liked that about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! This story will be six chapters that alternate between the kids and Aqua and Terra. It was originally two separate stories, but I thought they'd work better together, so next chapter we'll see Aqua and Terra. I hope you all enjoy it!


	2. Lookout

The location for the Rangers's new lookout was about three days away from the Tower. Isa and Lea had led the way. They were definitely rangers, but also… They were missing the natural ease that rangers had moving through nature. Every ranger Aqua had ever encountered moved through the trees like a fish through water. These two moved like swimmers. They were good at it, but it wasn’t quite in their nature--- they had to work harder than the fish to move fluidly. Aqua wanted to ask how long they’d been rangers but didn’t want it to come off like they were doing a bad job or as if she was grading them. She decided not to ask.

She did ask about this new base though. She wanted to be able to give Yen Sid a thorough report of the area. She also wanted to be able to tell the kids about it. She was surprised when they told her about it though and became excited to see it. Aqua had expected them to choose a clearing for their base, but they hadn't. Instead, they were building their base in the trees. They'd done a great job of avoiding the sentient trees, too. Whoever was in charge knew what they were doing here.

Aqua stopped and watched as several rangers worked in a ring of trees. They moved with such ease among the branches and leaves that they could have been born in them. As she watched, fragments of memories resurfaced. Her mother was sitting in a tree by their cottage as Aqua tried to climb it. Aqua lost her footing and fell.

_ "Almost, droplet," _ she'd smiled down at her.  _ "Give it another try." _

And she had until she could climb with the ease of walking.

How long had it been since she'd known the woods like that?

"Master Aqua?" Isa's voice brought her attention back to the present.

Isa wasn't much older than Ven and Vanitas. He was somehow a lot more serious though. He was usually frowning and scowling, but he did smile sometimes --- mostly at Lea.

Her gaze shifted from Isa and Lea to Terra, who was smiling at her, and back to Isa and Lea. "Yes, Isa?" 

"Lea and I will go find our leader if you don't mind waiting here."

"This is fine."

"Okay." Isa walked forward disappearing between trees.

"It's been cool," Lea pointed at them with two fingers, "Let's do this again sometime!"

"If we live long enough," Isa's voice came from the trees.

Lea dropped his arms in an exaggerated motion and rolled his eyes. "Such a downer," Lea entered the trees.

"They're so young," Aqua shook her head. "I should have cast a protection charm on them."

"We'll see them again before we leave."

"Yea."

A butterfly flew by, nearly grazing Aqua's nose. She followed it with her eyes and turned to watch it. Terra chuckled. Aqua stopped and turned to face him.

"What?"

"You always seem so charmed in forests."

"Ah," Aqua pressed her palms together, "Sorry."

Terra shook his head, "It's nice."

"Forests feel like home." Still, she needed to avoid getting whisked away by the magic of forests. 

"Which of you is the master?" A woman appeared. She must have come out of the woods, but Aqua hadn’t heard a thing.

"That would be me," Aqua turned to face her fully.

"Thank you for your assistance, past, present, and future," she gave a small bow. "I'm Odina, the leader of this group."

“Pleased to meet you,” Aqua offered her hand. “I’m Aqua and this is Terra.”

Odina and Terra greeted each other. 

Odina asked them to follow her. She took them through the trees and into a clearing where tents were set up. She told them at the center of the lookout, where their camp currently was, would be their signaling crystal. 

“Do you not have a crystal yet?” Aqua looked around. Signaling crystals were quite large and if it hadn’t been implemented yet then it should’ve been visible.

“We do,” Odina led them into a tent, “but it’s not quite--- Olette!”

Inside the tent was a young girl. She had brown hair and eyes, orange clothes, and a small signaling crystal in her hands.

Odina walked up to her and plucked the crystal from her hands. “That is not a toy. If you want to play, go get your bow and arrow and shoot down some pinecones.”

“Yes, momma,” Olette stood up. She was wearing a leg brace and walked carefully as she exited the tent.

“Sorry about that,” Odina sat the crystal in a box, “You know how kids are, always curious, rarely cautious.”

“Yea, we have a few like that back at the tower,” Aqua nodded. “How old is she?”

“Six going on sixty.”

Aqua smiled.

“Actually, she’s turning seven in a couple of weeks.” Odina fiddled with the crystal, “Maybe we can throw a party this year…” 

Odina shook her head, “My apologies, you two are here to hear about the lookout and help set up the signaling crystal. I won’t bore you with talk of the mundane”

“It’s not a problem.”

Odina signaled for them to take a seat. They did. 

“The crystal is going to be buried in the ground at the center of our lookout. As you may have noticed, it’s not done growing. I apologize for that, we didn’t have nearly enough full-grown crystals to supply all the new lookouts being built, and even if we did, traveling with something that large would be irresponsible. Usually, we’d have the crystal prepared long before we started building, but we don’t have the time or numbers, or magic access at the moment.”

“Sounds like you’re all preparing for something,” Aqua tilted her head. This didn’t exactly sound like a routine lookout set up.

Odina nodded. “We have reason to believe that an elite group of poachers is preparing to attack all of the harbors and sanctuaries in this area. Hopefully, it’s just a rumor, but we couldn’t risk ignoring it.”

Aqua looked at Terra. This was serious. Could they really afford to be away from home when something like that could happen?

Terra looked at Odina. “So, you’re building these lookouts to prevent this attack?”

Odina nodded. “Sorry all the details weren’t in the letter, but I couldn’t risk the information getting intercepted.”

“And when would this attack be happening?” Aqua frowned.

“We don’t know.”

“Can we have a moment?” Aqua stood up.

“Of course,” Odina stood up. “Take your time, I’ll go check on progress around the lookout.”

Odina exited.

Aqua looked at Terra. “We need to go home.”

“Home?”

“Yes, a crystal that size would take me at least a month to grow!” She couldn’t be away that long.

“Aqua,” Terra put his hands on her shoulders, “the Tower is the safest place in the area for miles.”

“Yea, but the kids---”

“Will be fine. Take a breath.”

Aqua took a breath.

“If you really want to leave then we can, but I think they need us more here. And if helping here could help prevent problems at the harbors then I think we should help however we can.”

“Yea…” He was right. Aqua took another breath, “Okay, we’ll stay.”

They waited for Odina to return and told her about their decision and how long it would take to grow the crystal.

“Thank you,” Odina bowed, “We’ll prepare a tent for you and I’ll get a team together to start digging the hole.”

“I can help with that,” Terra raised his hand, “My earth magic is a bit rusty though.”

“We’re happy to accept any help you’ll give us.”

Soon after that, they exited the tent. Odina went off to get everything arranged. 

So they’d be gone a whole month plus the week to travel back. She looked at Terra. “Do you think everything will be okay at the tower if we’re gone that long? That’s a lot of responsibility to put on Ven and Vanitas, don’t you think?”

“Aqua” Terra took her hand, “they’ll be okay. Yen Sid is there, it’s not just them and the kids.”

Aqua nodded but… As much as she respected Master Yen Sid, he wasn’t the most attentive guardian. Ven and Vanitas would definitely be the ones mainly looking after the children, but Ven and Vanitas were only children!

“Aqua,” Terra stood in front of her, “they’re very responsible and well adjusted. We were around their age when we were traveling the countryside.”

“Yea, you’re right.” Aqua took a breath. They’d been so young then, practically babies in comparison to now. She pushed her hair back with her hand, “They’re just babies!”

“Aqua--”

An arrow hit the ground in front of them

“Dangit,” Olette came through the trees, “I missed.” She arrived in front of them and picked up the arrow. She examined it before returning it to her quiver. “Oh,” she looked up at them, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Terra crouched down to her eye-level, “Olette, right?”

“Yup.”

“I’m Terra and this is Master Aqua.”

“Nice to meet you,” she bowed her head.

Aqua looked at the quiver and bow, they were small, probably made for her. “Were you shooting pinecones?”

“Yea, but I missed, so now I have to start all over.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

“I was nearly at fifty,” she pouted.

“In a row?”

Olette nodded “If I shoot fifty in a row then Momma will give me a treat.”

“That’s amazing Olette.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “Well, bye!” And she walked back into the forest.

Odina returned shortly after and showed them to their tent. Aqua wrote a letter to Vanitas and one to Yen Sid. She told them it would take longer for them to return than originally thought. She mentioned to Yen Sid that she would reveal all the details when they got back. She sent the letters in a bubble. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to float to the tower.

They joined the rangers for dinner.

All the rangers, a small group of twelve, were sitting in a circle with bowls. They were eating fish and rice. Most of them were adults, likely in their twenties. Odina was older. Isa, Lea, and Olette were younger. Lea was telling a story. Isa was next to him, quiet. Olette was sitting next to Odina, both of them listening to Lea.

“And I swear every time I looked back at those dolls, they’d moved into a different position!” He sat down next to Isa, “He saw it, too!”

Everyone looked at Isa for confirmation.

Isa sat his bowl in his lap. “Did I now?”

“Yes! You did!”

The older rangers laughed. Lea glared at Isa. Isa gave him a mischievous smile in return.

Aqua laughed behind her hand.

“Aw,” Lea sighed, “not you too, Master Aqua.”

“Sorry, if it helps, I know exactly what you’re talking about, Lea.”

“Really?”

“Sure, Ella holds an annual witch retreat at the Glass Slipper Inn and those dolls are actually…”

Aqua told them all about the inn and the magic that flowed through those dolls. It’d been a long time since she’d told a story that didn’t revolve around the tower or her life at Mystic Haven. It was nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know this is a long shot, but there used to be someone who read this series who went by Xyctus. I recently found out that they deleted their A03 account, so I just wanted to say: "Thanks for your feedback and I hope everything is okay." So, if you ever read this, I hope you're doing well and I really liked your work, that's all. <3


	3. Playroom

About a week after they’d left, a letter came from Aqua. It had Vanitas's name on it. She wrote about their trip through the forest and how the Rangers were building their base in the trees. She was happy to be out in nature, but she had sad news too. She and Terra weren't going to be back this week--- _Obviously, since she’d sent a letter and they weren’t back yet._ Vanitas frowned. He’d thought it would be quick, but the rangers needed Aqua's help more than she'd realized. She hoped everything was going well at the tower and would be sending more letters to everyone soon.

Vanitas read over the letter a couple more times. How was he supposed to respond to her? He didn’t have any magic bubbles. Maybe Ventus knew a way to. Right. Ventus. He should let him know about the letter.

Vanitas wasn't looking forward to announcing the delay to the brats. Luckily, he didn't have to because Yen Sid had received a similar letter. Unfortunately, Yen Sid's dry delivery did very little to comfort the brats. Vanitas doubted he could have done much better though.

So now all the kids were sitting in the toy room. They were so quiet. It was annoying.

"Well, if you think so," Ven looked up from his book, "we should cheer them up."

"Cheer them up how?"

"They like taking trips in the playroom, right?"

They told the brats that they'd let them play in the playroom.

"Yay!" Xion jumped up. "Let's go!"

"Okay," Ventus crouched down, "Where do you want to go?"

"The forest!" Roxas jumped up, "I miss my frog."

So, they went to the forest and the brats thought it was a good idea to play in frog goop lake. It took hours to get them and the tower clean.

The next day, Xion wanted to go to the beach. It was fall, so it wasn't as hot as it had been in the summer. They didn't stay too long, but Xion brought back tons of shells and sand.

The next day, Sora wanted to go to a swamp.

"A swamp?" Ventus tilted his head. "Why?"

"I've never been to a swamp before."

"Hmm, me either." Ven thought for a moment. "I'll be right back." He walked to the library.

Vanitas followed. He watched from the doorway as Ventus pulled an atlas off a shelf. He opened it and flipped through. He yawned, shook his head, and kept flipping through.

"Ventus."

"Vanitas."

"Is it really okay to open the teleportation room every day?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"You seem tired."

"I'm fine."

Ven walked by Vanitas. He was fine. Vanitas always thought he couldn't handle things. Besides, even if he was a bit tired, these trips were cheering up the kids. He focused and opened the door to a swamp. The kids ran in. They explored for a while, getting caked in mud along the way. They returned to the tower, so Ven could get started on lunch.

It was a good day for roasted veggies. Ven got an assortment of veggies out of the root cellar and got to work. He was slicing the carrots when he cut his finger. He winced. He rushed to the sink. He didn't want to get blood on the food.

There was a first aid kit somewhere in the kitchen. Ven rinsed his finger off in the sink. He looked around in a few cabinets before finding it. He bandaged his finger before returning to lunch.

+++

Why did the brats always get so messy? 

Vanitas was getting the brats cleaned up before lunch and this was the third day in a row that they were so dirty he had to find them new clothes. He still needed to do the laundry, so if they kept running through clothes then they'd run out of things to wear. Except for Naminé, she wasn't getting nearly as dirty as the rest of the kids. Maybe she was neat because she wore so much white.

Ventus called them down for lunch.

As Vanitas sat the brats at the table, Ventus and Yen Sid were setting the table. Ven almost dropped a plate but managed to catch it. That’s when Vanitas noticed the bandage wrapped around his finger. He waited until after lunch to pull him aside.

“What happened here?” Vanitas lifted Ven’s hand up.

“I cut myself.”

“That’s what I thought.” Vanitas crossed his arms, “You’re not opening the playroom anymore. You’re draining yourself.”

“No, I’m not.”

Vanitas narrowed his eyes. “No more opening the playroom, Ventus.”

“But it’s not even a difficult spell.”

“Okay, let’s try this one more time,” Vanitas grabbed Ventus by the face and squished, “do not open the playroom again, Ventus.”

“Fine.” Ven pulled away.

Of course, when they told the brats about it, they were not happy.

“Get over it,” Vanitas carried them to the toy room, “You don’t need daily vacations.”

“You’re no fun!” Roxas stuck his tongue out, “Nami didn't even get a turn!”

“It’s okay,” Naminé held her sketchbook to her chest. “There’s nowhere I really want to go.”

“See she’s fine.” Vanitas pinched Roxas’s nose. “Don’t be a pest.”

Roxas glared at Vanitas. “You’re a pest!”

“Cry about it,” Vanitas stuck out his tongue.

Roxas marched off.

“Was there somewhere you wanted to go?” Vanitas sat down next to Naminé.

Naminé shrugged. “Not with everyone.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t think they’d have fun there…” Naminé tugged at the trim of her shirt.

“You want me to take you?”

Naminé looked up at him. “Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

So, they walked to the playroom. Naminé put a vision in his head of a white forest. Vanitas focused on that and opened the playroom door. They walked into the forest. It was all white and off whites.

“Where is this?” The snow crunched beneath Vanitas’s shoes. Naminé walked beside him.

“I’m not really sure.”

“You’ve never been here before?”

“No. I saw this place in Diz’s memories. He was with a woman with white hair.” Naminé pointed at an altar of some type, carved from white stone. “They were there.” She walked up to it and put her hand on it. “Back when he was a king… he met a witch here.”

“And she was your mom or something?”

She turned to him wide-eyed. “My mom?”

“That wasn’t your first assumption?”

“I suppose I didn’t consider it.” Naminé looked away. “There’s… um... a gap in my memory.”

“But you’re a memory witch.”

Naminé nodded. “I can’t remember anything before Diz’s castle, so I thought he might’ve known another memory witch and she took my memories. But could it have been my mother? I didn’t know I had one.”

“I mean you had to come from somewhere. You didn’t think you just spawned did you?”

“I didn’t know witches laid eggs.”

Vanitas choked. “Excuse me?”

“Babies come from eggs, right?”

“What?”

“Roxas came from an egg and so did Sora and Ven too.”

“Yea, but that’s not a universal experience and eggs don’t come from nowhere either.”

“So where do other babies come from?”

“Ah, well…” Vanitas could already hear Aqua scolding him. “Ask Yen Sid when we get back.”

“Okay. I will.” Naminé grabbed his hand, “Let’s get back.”

“Yea.” Vanitas followed her. He took one more look at the altar as they walked through the door. He thought he saw a robed person approaching it. The door shut.

“Vanitas.”

“Yes?”

“Did you have a mom before your master took you?”

“Probably.” Vanitas shrugged. “I don’t remember.”

“Do you want me to look?”

Vanitas stopped. He looked at Naminé. “For my mom?”

She nodded. “Even if you don’t remember, she’s probably tucked away in your memories.”

That was true. He’d always assumed his family was dead, but what if they weren’t? What if they were alive? If he knew what they looked like then… Then what? He couldn’t go off looking for them, not without Ven. Plus, the tower was growing on him.

“I’m okay.” Vanitas shook his head, “I don’t need to know.”

“Okay.”

Then he and Naminé returned to the toy room.


	4. Digging

It didn’t take them long to get settled in. All the rangers were kind, if a bit serious at times, and they were surprisingly light-hearted and goofy. They soon fell into a routine. Every morning, before breakfast, they joined the rangers for exercises. 

“Master Aqua, Terra,” Terra heard Isa outside of the tent, “It’s breakfast time,” 

He opened his eyes. Breakfast? What time was it? Had he overslept? Aqua had her head on his chest. Terra ran his hand through her hair.

“It’s time to get up.”

Aqua hummed but didn’t move. It seemed charging the crystal was really taking a lot out of her. Every night since she’d started, she was asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.

“Aqua.”

No response, but she was definitely awake.

“Love of my life.”

She smiled, “Okay, okay.” She rolled off of him. “Breakfast, right?”

“Right.”

They got ready and headed to the center of camp. Between Lea and Aqua, there was an entertaining story at every meal. The older rangers didn’t talk much about themselves and neither did Isa. He always seemed to be in thought. It reminded him of Ven.

After breakfast, Aqua left with Odina. Terra, Isa, and Lea went to work on the hole. The hole was solely the responsibility of Isa and Lea while the rest of the rangers were building in the trees. Terra was helping. His magic was rusty, but he should be able to handle that much. So far the hole was wide, but not deep. Isa told him that they had a long way to go. 

Every day, Terra tried to move a bit more dirt than the day before. He focused on an area. The dirt shifted. Alright. He could do this. Isa and Lea got their shovels and started digging. Lea talked the entire time. He had a lot of stories to tell. It was different from the quiet comfort of working with Ven, but still pleasant.

Terra had gathered that Isa and Lea had only been rangers for a couple of years. Before that, they’d lived in Radiant Garden, a kingdom on the other side of the mountain. There was something bridging their old lives and new lives, but Lea never talked about that. The closest they ever got was in reference to Odina. They said she’d saved them. From what, Terra wasn’t sure.

“Hey, Terra,” Lea was taking a break. Isa joined him.

“Yea?”

“Are you really a golem?”

Terra looked at him. “What else would I be?”

Lea shrugged. “You’re different from other golems we’ve met.”

“Is that so?”

“Yea, like…” He looked at Isa. “You’re more… I don’t know. There’s something different about you.”

“Ah.” Terra nodded. “I used to be human, so maybe that’s why.’

The two stared at him.

“You were human?” Lea looked at Isa. Isa looked at him, narrowed his eyes, and shook his head. Lea looked back at Terra. “What happened?”

Isa nudged Lea with his foot.

“I died, sort of, but then Aqua brought me back.”

“Master Aqua is very powerful, isn’t she?” Isa glanced over at her. She was sitting under a tree with the crystal. “It’s kind of strange.”

Terra sat down with them, “How so?”

“Shouldn’t she have a sanctuary of her own? I mean there are plenty of harbors that could use someone like her.”

“Well, she has her reasons.”

“Right,” Isa stood up and grabbed his shovel. “Everyone does.”

“So,” Lea leaned in, “did you have any family before you died? A twin brother maybe?”

“Lea!”

“I have to ask. He looks just like him.”

“I look like who?”

“This guy we knew.”/ “No one!”

Then they glared at each other. Isa pulled Lea to his feet.

He looked at Terra. “We’ll be back.” He dragged Lea off.

They went just far enough that Terra couldn’t hear them, but they were definitely arguing about something.

Well, they’d tell him when they were ready, right? Terra went to check on Aqua.

Aqua sat under a tree nearby Odina’s tent and channeled her magic into the crystal. It was getting bigger every day. 

Olette was nearby, shooting down pinecones. Each day she talked to Aqua a bit more than before. 

“But then it healed wrong so they had to break it again.” Olette pulled back her bowstring and aimed, “It really hurt a lot.”

“Wow,” Aqua looked at Olette’s leg. The brace was decorated with string, braided into multiple patterns. “Is your leg better now?”

“Yup! I still have to practice walking though...” Olette released the string. The arrow flew and shattered a pinecone. “Forty-nine!” 

Aqua turned the crystal in her hands, it was bigger, but she still had a long way to go. She wished she could grow it faster. 

“Are you a momma too?” Olette aimed at the tree.

“Well, I’m not quite a mother, but I do have kids I take care of.”

“Are they nice kids?”

“Yes, they’re very nice.”

“That’s good,” Olette shot the arrow. It flew into the tree and shattered a pinecone. “That’s fifty!”

Aqua did her best to clap around the crystal. “That’s amazing, Olette!”

“Thank you!” She walked off to retrieve her arrow.

Aqua closed her eyes and focused on the crystal. She needed to channel more energy into the crystal. She was already putting so much energy in though… If she used anymore she’d be tapping into her reserves, though maybe a little tapping wouldn’t be too bad.

“Don’t overdo it,” Terra took a seat next to her. He was probably taking a break.

Aqua opened her eyes. “Sorry, I’m just getting restless.”

“You should take a break then,” Terra put his hands over hers. “Maybe take a walk through the forest.”

“Yea,” she took a breath, “You’re right.”

She put the crystal in a bubble and floated it up to follow her. She kissed Terra on the cheek before walking off. A stroll through the forest was just what she needed. It was quiet and nature was comforting. She spotted several rangers working in the trees.

“Master Aqua,” Odina seemed to appear out of nowhere as she often did. “Taking a walk?”

“Yes, I’ll get back to work.”

“It’s fine,” Odina shook her head. “Everyone needs to take breaks, no use in working yourself to death.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“You’re a bit restless, aren’t you?”

“Yea.”

“You must be bored, sitting around with that crystal all day.”

Bored? Well, it wasn’t a particularly exciting task, but it was necessary.

“I wouldn’t say I’m bored…”

“Well, if you get bored, feel free to switch tasks for a bit. It’ll be good for you.”

“I’ll consider it then.”

Odina nodded and then disappeared. Switch tasks, huh? Aqua walked back to the clearing.

“Wow, you’re terrible at this!” Olette was talking to Lea and Isa. Terra was close by.

“A chakram isn’t exactly a bow and arrow!” Lea put his hands on his hips, “And I did better than Isa, at least.”

“I’m a swordsman,” Isa’s face was red, “not an archer.”

“What are you kids up to?” Aqua walked up.

“Lea and Isa were bickering  _ again _ ,” Olette walked up to her, “so they shot pinecones to see who was right!”

“How many did you two shoot?” Aqua looked at them.

They looked at each other.

Olette laughed, “Lea only got one.” 

“That bow is extremely small,” Lea crossed his arms.

Olette shook her head then whispered, “but Isa didn’t hit a single one.”

Isa didn’t say anything, he just looked away.

“Well, did you two at least settle your argument?” Aqua walked up to them.

“Yup, I win, so I can talk about whatever I want!”

Isa rolled his eyes. “As per usual.”

“Sore loser!”

“Loudmouth!” 

They glared then Isa grabbed his shovel and stomped back over to the hole.

Yikes.

“I think I’ll work on the hole for a bit,” Aqua looked over at Isa.

“Sure,” Terra nodded, “I’ll be here.”

Aqua walked over to the hole. The dirt was soft with moisture to it. She climbed in. The dirt would be easy to move if she used magic to shift the water in it. She needed to save her magic though, so she picked up Lea’s shovel. She started digging.

Isa looked at her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s fine,” Aqua continued. “I’ll just keep you company.”

“Fine.” He continued.

“There’s this guy in Radiant Garden,” Lea leaned on a tree, “He looks just like you. He used to work for the king before the king ran off to Castle Oblivion.”

Terra was helping Olette collect arrows. “I see. I don’t have any brothers as far as I know.”

“Yea? Maybe it’s just a coincidence then.” Lea frowned, “but I have a feeling it isn’t.”

Terra handed Olette the arrows.

“Thanks!” Olette went to put her bow away.

“So what’s this other guy like?”

Lea shook his head, “He’s not someone you’d want to be sharing a face with, that’s for sure.”

“I guess, I should have Yen Sid look into it then.”

“Yea, do that. I wish I could tell you more, but…” Lea looked over at Isa.

It was quiet.

“We should get back to work,” Terra headed back towards the hole.

He hoped it was nothing in the end, but he had a feeling at his very core that this guy that Lea talked about was very important. And that feeling was a bad one.


	5. Sick

Vanitas was sweeping the library. It was technically time for him to clean outside the tower, but there was a weird feeling in the air recently. It was like the air was heavy with something invisible. He didn’t trust it. He’d asked Ventus about it. He’d said he’d look into it. Vanitas would ask if he’d found anything after breakfast.

“I think Ven is sick.” Xion ran in.

“Why do you think that?” Vanitas looked at her. 

“I’ve been watching him.”

“Right, but what have you seen?”

“Well, when I held his hands a couple of days ago, it was really warm! Too warm!”

“Okay.”

“And yesterday he was real drowsy and he kept sneezing.”

“Right.”

“And he hasn’t even gotten out of bed to make breakfast today, he’s coughing, and he’s burning up!”

“You could have started with that.”

“And Sora, and Nami, and Roxas are all the same!”

“So, they’re all sick.”

“I think so.”

“Great.”

Vanitas sat his broom aside. Well, this sounded like an issue for Yen Sid. He walked up the stairs. Xion trailed behind him.

“Yen Sid,” Vanitas pushed his door open. “Everyone is sick.”

Yen Sid wasn’t at his desk. Muffled coughing came from further back. Vanitas peeked through the door to Yen Sid’s room. He was laying in his bed, coughing up a storm. Great.

“You're sick too?”

“Fairy Migration,” is all Vanitas managed to work out between sessions of Yen Sid coughing up his lungs.

“Kay, thanks.” Vanitas ducked out and headed down the stairs.

“I should give him a hug,” Xion stretched out her arms.

“Only if you want to get sick too.”

“I don’t get sick like the others though. Master Yen Sid said it was because I don’t have a something-something.”

“That so?”

“Yea, I wish I could get sick though.”

“Cool, I’ll find some termites and fungus and let them loose on you.”

“Really?! You’d do that?”

“No, Xion! That would destroy you.”

“Oh.”

“Why would you want to get sick anyway? It’s not fun.”

“I know, but the other kids get sick, so I want to get sick too,” Xion stopped at the bottom of the stairs, “like a real kid.”

“You are a real kid.”

Xion looked up at him and smiled. “Really? You think so?”

“Yea, a real kid,” he pinched her nose, “and a real weirdo.”

She laughed.

Vanitas went into the library. He found a book on the Fairy Migration: twice a year, blah, the slow demise of the fairy realm, blah blah, magical residue, blah blah blah, the Fae Flu, Bingo!

So to cure the Fae Flu he needed… Things grown and made by humans. They were supposed to help cancel out the effect of the magical residue. He didn’t have access to human things. He’d have to go into Destiny Kingdom for something like that. There had to be something else. He looked on the next page, there was another solution. He just needed… an adult fairy to absorb the magical residue. He didn’t have that either.

The only other option was to wait it out and treat it like any other flu. Alright. How was he supposed to treat a flu? He looked around and found some books. The general consensus was lots of rest and lots of fluids. Vanitas went to the kitchen and started some soup. While that was cooking, he took Yen Sid and Ven some tea while Xion took the other kids some juice.

He returned to the kitchen and stirred the soup.

“Do you really not have any happy stories?” Xion sat at the counter. “From before you came here, I mean.”

“Not really.” He tasted it. Too salty. What was he supposed to do if that happened? He checked Ven’s cookbook. “I got in trouble a lot and when I wasn’t getting in trouble I was helping my master hurt people.”

“That’s sad.”

“Yup,” Vanitas added some water to the soup.

“I’m sorry, Vanitas.”

“About what?” He turned to look at her.

“You had a really sad life.” She sounded like she was going to cry.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“I think it is! How come nobody helped you and Ven? How come nobody helped Roxas and Nami? How come nobody helped Sora and his mom? It’s so sad! There’s probably lots of people just like you who need help? Isn’t it sad?”

“Well, yea, it’s sad.”

“I wish I could help everyone.”

“Thanks.” He tasted it. It was a bit better… He added more water. “I’m happy you care so much.”

“Really?”

“Yea, it’s nice.” He tasted the soup. It was decent. “Let’s serve some soup.”

“Yay!”

They ate the soup, but after a few hours, it seemed like everyone was getting worse. He checked the book again. It was likely everyone would be fine, but really bad cases of the Fae Flu could cause death… 

Maybe Vanitas did need something from Destiny Kingdom. He checked his room. He had some money. He just needed to go to the market. He looked in the mirror. He needed to pretend to be human. It’d been a while. He touched his ears, they disappeared. Okay… He could do this. He walked to the door of the tower. Destiny Kingdom was a quick flight away. He let his wings out.

“Vanitas?” Xion walked up behind him. “Where are you going?”

“I need to get some stuff to make everyone better.”

“Oh, human stuff?”

“Yea.”

“How? Do you have money?”

“Yea.”

“Isn’t that made by humans?”

…It was human-made wasn't it?

“Xion,” Vanitas crouched down.

“Yes?”

“You’re a little genius,” he patted her head. “Let’s get these to everybody.”

“Okay!”

They spread the coins around the tower. Xion put one on everyone’s forehead. She said it looked like a decoration that way. She also arranged all the coins Vanitas placed into patterns. It took a couple of days, but everybody got back on their feet. That was great. Vanitas collapsed onto his bed and went to sleep.

“Ven!” Xion ran up to him while he was making breakfast. “Vanitas is sick!”

“He is?”

“Yea! He’s in bed just like you were!”

Ven went up to Vanitas’s room. He was rolled up in his blanket, so only his hair poked out. He’d probably gotten sick, just from being around all of them so much.

“I guess I should make him some soup.” Ven headed back down.

“I’ll deliver it to him,” Xion followed closely behind Ven.

“Okay, that’s very nice of you, Xion.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “I want to be nice like Vanitas.”

“You think Vanitas is nice?”

“Yea! He’s the nicest!”

Ven smiled. He wondered what Vanitas would think, hearing that. He’d probably get embarrassed.

Ven made him soup and Xion took it to Vanitas. Hopefully, he’d be better soon.


	6. Homebound

The crystal was finally done growing. It was huge. Everyone helped put it in the ground. Now all Aqua had to do was activate it and they would bury it. She’d have enough energy in the morning, for now the rangers were throwing a party. It was part celebration about the crystal, part celebration about the nearly finished base, and part late birthday party for Olette. It was a lot of fun!

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Odina sat on a log across from Aqua.

“I am.” Aqua smiled, “I think everyone is.”

“That’s good,” Odina looked at the sky. “They deserve it.”

“Captain Odina?”

“Yes, Master Aqua?”

“I noticed, you’re a bit more relaxed than other rangers I’ve met.”

Odina laughed, “Well, you must have mostly met rescue rangers and escorts, I suppose.”

Aqua nodded.

“My current mindset isn’t uncommon among lookout and residential rangers, but I had to learn the lesson the hard way.”

“What lesson?”

“The only thing better than dying for a good cause is living for a good cause.”

“Oh.”

“As a Magic Master, I’m sure you’re aware of the dangers and mortality rate of being a ranger.”

“Yes, I hear rangers rarely make it to old age.”

“It’s a sad truth for rescues and escorts,” Odina shook her head, “they're all about dying for the cause.”

“But not you, because you’re a lookout?”

“I’m a rescue actually. I’m just running this lookout because we were short on captains,” Odina looked into the fire, “As for that self-sacrificing mindset, I was like that too, until a couple of years back when… I almost lost Olette…”

Odina’s gaze was far away.

“She was never supposed to get that close to the danger, but…” Odina shook her head. “We got lucky…”

“I’m sorry.”

Odina shook her head. “That was the past. Now, all I can do is work on a better future.”

“Yea.”

“I’m sending Olette back to Twilight Country after the lookout is finished. It’s safer with her dad. He’s a fine lookout, always talking about safety that one. She’ll do better there. She’ll understand one day.”

Aqua nodded. She hoped Olette would understand. It had to be a hard decision for Odina.

“Isa and Lea won’t go out to Twilight Country though. They insist on staying placed here and learning from me how to lead rescues but... I can hardly stand the thought of it. ”

“I see.”

“Here I am, rambling about my problems to you.” Odina laughed, “You should be enjoying yourself.”

Aqua shook her head, “You can talk to me if you need someone to talk to. And now that you have that handy little crystal, I’m just a call away.”

Odina smiled. “I’ll remember that”

Olette ran up and dragged Odina off somewhere. Aqua returned to the party.

+++

Aqua was laying in her tent, “I miss the kids.”

“I know,” Terra laid next to her, “I miss them, too.”

“Before the fall of the Mystic Haven,” Aqua took a moment, “before all of that, we said we were going to start a family, remember?”

“Of course.”

Aqua turned on her side to face him. “Odina is sending Olette away. She’s going to be so upset. She talks about being a rescue ranger like Odina all the time, she said her father is a lookout, that it’s not as cool.”

Terra turned to his side. “Isa said the safest jobs are lookout and residential.”

“Odina said that Isa and Lea want to do rescues, too.”

“They feel guilty about something,” Terra frowned. “Like Ven and Vanitas.”

“They’re all so young.”

“Yea…”

“Let’s get some rest.”

But she couldn’t get to sleep.

“I wonder if I could do that...” 

“Do what?”

“Send the kids away because it'd be safer. I don’t know if I could.”

Terra closed his eyes. “It’d be tough.”

“I guess parents have to make tough decisions like that,” Aqua sighed, “I wonder if any of the kids would ever think of me like that, as their mom.”

“Even if they don’t, you’re doing a great job with them.”

“Yea?”

“Yea.”

“You are too.” Aqua smiled. She grabbed his hand.

Hopefully, she’d never have to make a decision like Odina was. She wasn’t sure what she’d do in that situation.

The next morning, Aqua activated the crystal and gave Yen Sid a call. Apparently, he was recovering from the Fae Flu, everyone had gotten it. It seemed the Fairy Migration had hit the tower hard. All the kids came to the crystal projection to say ‘Hi.’ Except for Vanitas, Ven said he was still recovering. Aqua told the kids that they’d be back in a couple of days.

They said their goodbyes to Olette, Lea, and Isa. Aqua cast a protection spell on the three of them and wished them safe travels.

The trip back seemed short in comparison to the month they’d spent at the Lookout. The kids swarmed them when they got back, except for Vanitas and Xion. Ven told her Vanitas was still sick. Aqua went to visit him.

Vanitas was bundled in a blanket and was almost completely bat form. Poor baby. He had such a bad case. Xion told her that Vanitas had taken care of everyone when they’d gotten the Fae Flu. Aqua needed to siphon off the excess magic, so she got to work. She fell asleep at his bedside.

“You just got back and you didn’t even sleep in your bed,” Vanitas was sitting up. He looked a lot better, though still exhausted.

“Yen Sid told me that you two did a great job with the kids.”

“Yea, well someone had to.” Vanitas rolled his eyes. “I told you we’d be fine.”

“Yea, you did.” Aqua smiled. “I’m proud of you two.”

“Whatever, it wasn’t a big deal,” Vanitas looked out the window, “Anyway... welcome home, Aqua.”

“Thank you, Vanitas.”

It was good to be back.


End file.
